By Dr. Scott Rodin, Chief Strategy Officer
A pastor greeted his congregants at the door after the service. He had just preached on generosity. A disgruntled man met him with a growl, “Pastor, I can’t believe you spent a whole sermon just talking about giving.” “What else should I have preached on?” the pastor inquired. “Well, you should have taught us how to be more godly people.” The pastor placed his hand on the man’s shoulders and replied with a smile, “My friend, we are never more like God than when we give.”
As fundraisers, we often bump up against the question: what makes people generous? We may wonder what we can do to encourage more generosity. While there are certainly best practices that will help us be more effective fundraisers, another part of the equation depends on the donors themselves. How do they view their resources? What do they believe about giving? As followers of Jesus, no matter the scale of resources we have, we all must ask ourselves, what is our relationship with giving?
Like the man in the opening story, we must confront the lie that giving is not central to the Christian faith. Generosity is too often taught as an optional practice that Christians can embrace as much or as little as they wish. The truth is that authentic Christian giving is an act of joy that flows out of the core of who we are in Jesus Christ.
What does this look like? Consider Paul’s description of the Macedonian church’s giving: “For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord’s people. And they exceeded our expectations: They gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also to us.” (2 Corinthians 8:3-5)
The act of giving, by a Christian, is one way we demonstrate that we are image bearers of God. We witness to the world the values of His kingdom. We show His heart to the world. Simply put, in giving—joyfully, lavishly, and freely—we bear the image of God whose very nature is giving. “For God so loved the world that He gave…” (John 3:16)
Here are three ways that our lavish and joyful giving reflects the nature of the God:
- Giving demonstrates that we trust God to provide all things.
God loves us and promises to “provide all of our needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19) When we give, we proclaim His lordship over our lives. It is our expression of absolute trust. When we give, we demonstrate that we believe Him and reflect His glory. - Giving reminds us of God’s compassion and love for all people.
When we see a need and respond joyfully to meet that need, we reflect the heart of Christ. God gives to us so we will be His source of love and caring for others. “Freely you have received, freely give.” (Matthew 10:8) - Giving demonstrates our connection with eternity.
Giving aligns us with eternal values and places our earthly time and possessions in their proper perspective. God created us as eternal beings, prepared for heaven and life forever with Him. By holding earthly things loosely, we bear witness to the temporary nature of our temporal existence and align ourselves with the eternal Christ. When we understand that our true citizenship is in heaven, we can give away earthly things with joy.
Does your giving reflect how you are made in God’s image? Does it bear witness to Christ living in you? May our giving always be done with joy as image bearers of our lavishly generous God.